October 25, 2007
ASUM overstepped its authority
I’m writing in response to yesterday’s article about the supervision of permanent ASUM personnel shifting to the Administration.
The article mentions that ASUM had planned on going into executive session to discuss this memorandum of understanding. ASUM President Dustin Leftridge was quoted as saying that the meeting would be closed to the public because the discussion had to do with “personnel issues.” In accordance with Montana’s open meeting laws, an ASUM meeting should only go into executive session to discuss matters and conflicts with specific personnel, not to discuss an alteration to supervisory policy. In fact, the discussion about yielding control of classified staff to the Administration should be an especially public one. Transparency throughout this process is essential, and students deserve to understand why the change is being made.
There are also some issues with the validity of this MOU. Although President Leftridge may have signed this document, it was never ratified by the ASUM senate. Generally, such agreements aren’t made without taking a vote unless the senate is not in session, which is most certainly not the case here. Further, ASUM has certain governing documents that direct how it functions as a student association. One of these is Personnel Policy, which states very clearly that, “the ASUM President will be considered supervisor and director of each classified employee.” Since the intent of the MOU is to change this to joint supervision with the VP of Student Affairs, it necessitates the amendment of ASUM’s documents. This requires a two-thirds majority vote of the senate, which never took place. Until both of these votes are taken, the MOU cannot be considered valid.
The importance of the senate for oversight and as a representative body should not be undermined, and the process should be open and transparent to all students. After all, isn’t that why we elect them?
Cedric Jacobson
senior, cell & molecular biology, microbiology and biological chemistry, former vice president of ASUM
This story has been viewed 123 times.
Comments
There are no comments for this story yet.
